Chapter 406: Chapter 405: UEFA Champions League Draw, Portugal Super Cup
Deng Kai spun his finger, "If we say Ronaldo took Quaresma’s place, many also believe that Kaka took Viana’s, but actually, that’s not the case."
"Viana is fundamentally the Quaresma of central midfield; they’re rotor-type players. Their ability to dribble laterally and break through with turns is much stronger than their vertical dribbling, which is a type of soft breakthrough."
"Part of the reason is that neither of them has very fast top speed. Ronaldo belongs to this category as well, although his top speed isn’t slow, using speed to beat opponents would make him feel embarrassed."
"Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, is the typical vertical breakthrough player—with a burst of speed that’s simple yet unsolvable."
Guardiola, applying the principle more broadly, remarked, "The rhythm becomes a bit sluggish when rotors pair with rotors. Speedsters paired with speedsters tend to encroach on each other’s space, and the defense is left totally exposed."
"So pairing a rotor with a speedster is just perfect."
Deng Kai, looking at Guardiola, said, "It seems that you have some grievances against speed-type players. Just because you’re not fast, does it mean you dislike fast players?"
Guardiola gave an awkward smile, "But Kaka isn’t a speed-type player, right? He’s Brazilian, plays with a samba flair, but his dribbling and ball control skills are nowhere near Ronaldo’s, like a lower-level rotor."
Deng Kai looked towards Kaka, who was practicing on the training ground, and said, "That’s because he’s still pretending."
Guardiola: "Pretending?"
Deng Kai: "Yeah, pretending! Pretending to be a traditional Brazilian player, pretending to be what everyone imagines a Brazilian player should be. He doesn’t know how he should play."
"But I do!"
...
In August, with the draw for this year’s Champions League group stage revealed, fans once again indulged in their fantasies about the highest honor in European football club competition.
And the luck of Sporting Lisbon could be described as downright terrible.
They found themselves in the Group of Death!
The team with the lowest profile in this group was Galatasaray, the absolute powerhouse from the Turkish Super League.
According to the UEFA European leagues’ rankings, the Turkish Super League is placed eleventh, which doesn’t exactly scream ’power league’ compared to Portugal’s rank of sixth in Europe. It’s quite a disparity.
But if you underestimate this team because of that, you’d be making a huge mistake.
If the most memorable treble in recent years was Manchester United’s capture of the Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup in the 1998-1999 season.
Then Sporting Lisbon’s unexpected Europa League, Primeira Liga, and Portuguese Cup treble in the 2000-2001 season was undoubtedly the most surprising.
And in between, there was... another treble winner.
Galatasaray, in the 1999-2000 season, also clinched the minor treble of the Europa League and the Turkish Super League, as well as the domestic cup!
From their perspective, they were every bit as strong as Sporting Lisbon!
Last year, although they only claimed one championship honor, the shock they brought to the public was no less impressive than the treble-winning season.
They were in the Champions League quarter-finals last season!
Even more, before the season began, they defeated the reigning Champions League winners Real Madrid to claim the UEFA Super Cup!
So this was undoubtedly a strong team, perhaps even tougher to handle than any powerhouse from the top five leagues.
Of course, Galatasaray was the easiest opponent Sporting Lisbon would face in this group.
The second formidable opponent was PSV Eindhoven, one of the three giants of the Dutch Eredivisie.
And they were the most prominent of the giants in recent years.
They had won the Dutch league championship two years in a row, showing a tad more dominance than Sporting Lisbon in the Primeira Liga.
With their vast Champions League experience, and players like the defensive specialist "Mark van Bommel" as well as this year’s new addition, Mateja Kežman, who’s seen as Van Nistelrooy’s successor, they hosted very strong players.
The latter, in his first training match after joining the club, is said to have achieved a hat-trick, winning over his teammates.
By this point, both of these teams were stronger than Sporting Lisbon, as Sporting had been absent from the Champions League for too long.
If this wasn’t disheartening enough, then the last team would truly be the cause for despair.
At least for Cristiano Ronaldo it was.
Do you remember what Cristiano Ronaldo said during the transfer window?
He considered Lazio to be a super team.
Well now, this super team had appeared on his list of opponents.
The team with the overwhelmingly highest probability of appearing in this group was none other than the Serie A’s Blue Eagles, Lazio!
The "Group of Death" was targeted at Sporting Lisbon, Galatasaray, and PSV Eindhoven.
In the case where the latter three had comparable strength, they could only fight for one spot to advance—a truly brutal situation!
Mendieta, Crespo, Pippo Inzaghi, Salas, Simeone, Popovski, Stankovic, Stam, Nesta, Mihajlovic, Peruzzi... With such a luxurious lineup, this was completely a super team that could win the Serie A, the Champions League, and the Coppa Italia!
If the skies over Europe turned blue this season, nobody would be surprised.
This was Lazio at this moment.
Interestingly, this season they had also brought in a player from Brazil’s São Caetano, simply known as "Caesar."
At once, the media had started to consider Lazio’s prospects for the second stage of the group matches.
The Champions League’s format at this time was quite special.
Just last year, the Champions League had expanded, with thirty-two teams fighting in the group stage, and the top two advancing to the round of sixteen.
Then, the sixteen teams were re-divided into groups of four, with the top two advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals.
So, there were two stages of group matches.
However, some teams were calling for the cancellation of the second stage of group matches, to make the round of sixteen a knockout stage instead, which would reduce the number of matches by four and lessen the teams’ burdens.
Without any surprises, in the 2003-2004 season, the second phase of the group matches would be canceled, transforming into the knockout stage format of the Champions League that is well-known later on.
This also shed light on the future prestige of the Champions League crown.
In an era with fewer matches, Ronaldo’s single-season Champions League scoring record got smashed, and of course, it was due to... the rise of offensive football.
CR7: ???
CR7: So you’re saying this has nothing to do with me, huh, how classic!
"First Lazio, then the heavens; Galatasaray’s treble winners are still standing in front of the Portuguese body!"
"Eredivisie and Primeira Liga are about the same, but PSV Eindhoven’s status is more solid than Sporting Lisbon!"
"Mendieta: Looking forward to another clash with Guardiola, and also eager to experience the style of Matthaus and Deschamps!"
"Crespo: I do have an issue with the Primeira Liga; they took away my European Golden Shoe."
"CR7: I’m just the European Bronze Shoe. Jia De’er is the one who took your Golden Shoe; go seek revenge against Porto and the Brazil team!"
"Van Bommel: I can freeze Deng Kai, but the priority is to limit Ronaldinho’s influence!"
"Kežman: Rumors say CR7 didn’t go to Manchester United because they brought in Van Nistelrooy. In my opinion, Manchester United made the right decision!"
"Deng Kai: I heard the name Van Bommel and thought he was an attacking midfielder, because Sneijder and Van der Vaart are the only young Dutch midfielders I remember!"
"Deng Kai: Kežman is Van Nistelrooy’s successor, CR7 is his competitor, and it’s clear who is stronger!"
Deng Kai was engaging in a social media battle of wits.
But right now, Sporting Lisbon had no time to reply one by one.
Because they were about to face a real tough match.
They were still fighting for the fourth trophy of the last season, which hadn’t completely ended yet.
The Portuguese Super Cup!
Sporting Lisbon vs Porto!
Porto’s mission was singular—to stop the incredible surge of Sporting Lisbon’s miracle.
Although they had already become part of this miracle, their role was not an honourable one—they were just a pitiful backdrop.
This time, they wanted to reclaim the leading role in the Primeira Liga!
